American Idol 2014: Den of Thieves Producers Added to Revamped Season 13

Credit:
FOX
Photo: American Idol Logo

The latest rumor to come out of the American Idol 2014 reboot V 13.0 is that mega producers Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager have been signed on to the show as producers for 19 Entertainment. The pair, who have a production company called Den of Thieves, would join newly hired showrunner Per Blankens, who was previously the producer of Swedish Idol.

The hiring of these two producing heavyweights make total sense when one considers that the ultimate goal is to get Idol back to the ratings juggernaut it once was...or at least close to it. These two have the experience in giving shows total makeovers, as they took over production for MTV Movie Awards last year, beating out The Voice’s Mark Burnett. They have also produced VH1’s “Divas” concert, the CMT Music Awards, and MTV’s Video Music Awards, so their resume is anything but light.

Overseeing it all will be veteran sports producer David Hill, who is another new hire by FOX after chief reality exec Mike Darnell left suddenly in May.

After the firing of Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, it seems that the producing part of Idol is pretty well fleshed out, but there are still giant question marks when it comes to the judges table.

Keith Urban is the only one left who hasn’t confirmed an exit from the show, so he still may be a possibility for season 13. Jennifer Hudson’s $4-5 million contract has been hammered out but not executed, as the judge hiring process was put on hold with the reorganization of the producing and executive teams. We also know Kelly Clarkson turned down the role of judge, so it remains to be seen whether the rumor of an all-alum panel will come to fruition. One thing we do know for sure is that lovable and uber professional host Ryan Seacrest will be back, as he was one more year on his contract.